Unexpected
by GeminiGemelo
Summary: When a being gets exiled, it's usually pretty depressing. But when that being is saved by another and they are exiled together... well, let's just say that some things happen for a reason. One-shot/drabble.


_Well, I was bored today and haven't had much time lately for writing, so I wrote this. Trampled is probably going to have a long chapter, so that is taking a while. Then I have to work on Truth or Dare, which should be up before Trampled... but I also have school, homework, track, stables, and a social life. So bear with me._

_This is a random idea I had today, and I typed it up in like... an hour. I know all my other one-shots are 10,000+ words, but like I said... I typed this up in only an hour. This would be more like my version of an AU drabble. :p ShenzixScar (a pairing I've never read, personally), mostly fluff, just kind of cute. Don't take it seriously. _

_Enjoy. :D_

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The two of them sat on a hill, the sun setting to the west, which was behind their backs. A gentle breeze rustled through the trees, cooling off the sharp edge of warmth that had sliced through their two bodies. Thick droplets of sweat formed on thick, clumpy strands of hair. Gentle rays of sunlight dappled through the grove and formed warm splotches on the pair of unassuming figures. A lion was there… and a hyena. Two supposed enemies, two avaricious competitors, two horribly contrasting counterparts… and yet, there they were. Calmly basking in the dry warmth, letting the capricious gales sweep through their tattered manes and patchy, wet fur.

All was silent, except for the cheerful chirping tunes produced by brightly colored, avian forms. To the reflective, thoughtful pair, it served as a pitiful reminder that, no matter what either of them went through, life still continued. In the end, they were utterly insignificant. Maybe that was why neither of them said anything, merely enjoying—or, depending on how the situation was viewed—tolerating the companionable silence… and dreading the quiet evening that would follow their mutually not-so-pleasant afternoon.

But nothing lasts forever, because the world itself is in motion. Nature changes… and no one would know that better than them. Both of them had been… _somebody_… and now they were nobody. Instead of sitting on a throne, and instead of leading a hungry group of savages, they were still and doing nothing. Nothing. Lying pathetically down on their sides, which were nestled in some leaves they had found resting on the crest of a patchy, shrub-peppered hillside.

And yet… part of it felt great. No responsibilities, no worries, all the freedom they could have asked for… why was it so unsettling? Why did the silence feel forced and uncomfortable? Maybe it was their circumstances. Neither of them had quite come to grips with what had happened in the past day and a half. Their own pasts were enigmatic… mysterious. Why didn't they understand it? …Because they hadn't reflected on it. They hadn't talked about it. And what better time than here, together? It seemed like such a natural time and setting to ease the other's conscience. But the words felt like they would never come… and where exactly to begin?

The hyena's patience wore out first. She looked at the lion, who she had never exactly considered… well, anything. And not because their lives hadn't affected the other's—that was certainly not true. But mainly because… she didn't know what he was to her. What name she should call him. Boss? Not anymore. Friend? Probably not. Equal? Maybe, now...

She opened her mouth to speak, but didn't even know what to address him as. She didn't even know his real name, or if he would want her to use it. She'd always known him as that same alias, that same nickname. That's what he was—what he had been—to their world… but did it matter out here? They could never go back to that same world again. It felt strange to call him by anything other than his real name.

The hyena lied on her back, golden blades of grass ruffling softly under her weight as she looked up at the sky, letting the absent threads of thought drift through the spinning wheel that was her mind, weaving them in and out in strange patterns as she lied there motionlessly, staring blankly at the azure sky.

"Just yesterday I was the matriarch of the hyenas. I had everything I ever wanted in life… but now, I've lost everything."

There was a silence that followed, which wasn't exactly unexpected. The harsh, raspy timbre of her words against the still air was somewhat jarring. Electrifying, in a strange sort of way… unnatural. As if they weren't supposed to be there. The lion also lay on his back next to her, looking upon that same sky with a mix of befuddlement and distant anger. His dark mane was sprawled out under him, waving gently in the occasional gusts that came and left, and his narrow face was twisted into a strange, forced smirk.

"So? And I was king. King of the Pridelands… But life's not fair, now, is it? I've lived a hard life; I should know that better than anyone."

Understandably, the hyena was slightly taken aback. Her head turned to the side so that she could face the being adjacent to her, and she glared at him harshly… though not maliciously.

"I've lived a hard life too, you know… scrounging for food all the time is not… easy. Trust me; I know that life's not… fair… to all of us. But they _exiled _me! Don't you think I'd be a little shaken?"

He only nodded in response before there was another, slightly more awkward pause. The lion's eyes seemed to glaze over as he contemplated everything again, thinking out his words carefully before he spoke in his usual, eloquent fashion.

"Of course you should be. It's only natural. But I believe we can agree… no matter what we do, no matter what happens… they will never accept us. They will never take us back. We will be exiled until the day we die."

Another attempt at silence ensued, but this time it wasn't exactly complete. He wanted to say more. That much she could tell at a glance, by the way he was subtly biting his lip, and by the way he was nervously narrowing his glinting, green eyes... After years of being around him, she immediately recognized that something was bothering him. Something that he didn't want to say.

"But… why? Why did you do it? When those hyenas attacked me and… tried to kill me… you stopped them. You risked your life to save mine when you could have _easily_ let me die. After all that I've done… _why_… did you do it?"

It almost seemed as though something visibly snapped into place inside his mind while he spoke. Everything made sense, and yet, at the same time… it was nonsense. He now understood what he'd never thought would happen. He understood what he'd never even _dared _to contemplate. Sudden realization showed on his face, enlightenment washing over him as he stared at her, unbelieving…

"Why did I do it?" she chuckled slightly, continuing despite the genuinely surprised look on his face, "I did it… because…"

The hyena stopped, almost unsure of what she was saying as well. She braced herself, not even fully understanding the turn of events they had been through together. But it was the truth, and she knew it was the truth from the moment the words slipped off her tongue.

"I did it… because I love you."

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_So... liked it? Loved it? Hated it? Let me know and review! ;)_

_-Twin_


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